This morning Tim took some time off work to get out in the yard, and got the beds done for the strawberries. I got them planted in the afternoon, all in nice little mounds, one for each plant. I bought roots, two varieties. There’s about 40 plants. I don’t expect strawberries this year, and some resources suggest picking off any buds I see before they turn to fruit, to allow the plants to get established the first year. (Others say it’s not a problem to get some fruit the first year.) I guess I’ll do some of each, and take notes! Let’s see…”Plant A: I picked off the flowers in 2009 and got better yield in 2010; Plant B: I got 4 strawberries in 2009 and fewer than Plant A in 2010.” Is that how it will go?
I also planted the basil plants near the tomatoes, and the peppers, in their bed, Tier 2. It was pretty darn hot, about 90, and I was melting so took a break. Tim came out later to prepare the bed for the peppers, and I worked on leveling it out and packing it down a bit. Since it was hot and I was tired, Tim offered to take me out to dinner. We cleaned up and went early, came back and planted the pepper plants. I got finished just about the time it was getting dark. It was sure nice planting them in the cool evening, and also nice planting them standing up, as they are on the raised tier.
Tommy the Toad came back! Tim relocated him (her?) way over to the other side of the property yesterday, and this morning he was back to the same pea bed he was in before!